Graveyard Shift
by BurningPaperMountains
Summary: John, Rose, Dave, and Jade have been investigating the paranormal for a while now. But even for them things get strange on a job in a an old factory. Then twelve new kids arrive in school the next day. Could they be involved? (Rating and Title might change)
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, and Happy Holidays. So I've been really busy for the past semester. I was so busy, in fact, that I barely had any time to write outside of school work. And while creative writing was fun, I'm glad to be back here. If I'm in your favorites, you may remember that I announced this fic was coming up in July (I think). Well I've been planning this thing sense then. And now I've finally finished the first chapter. This is kind of a preview of it, so I may edit it a bit (I'm not entirely convinced on the title either). But I figured I should probably get it out for the Holiday Season. I hope you guys enjoy.

Graveyard Shift

Chapter 1: A Breath of Fresh Air

John Egbert always seemed to get the shit jobs. Not that loading the team's van was all bad. He got to see all the gear, which never ceased to amaze him. In fact, basically everything about this job was incredible. Who else besides them could say that they got paid to investigate paranormal activity, while still in high school? He had thought that ectobiology was just a hobby. Hell, he didn't even believe it was real. Yet here he was, and it was "pure awesomeness." Still, he was young and restless and stupid, so loading a van full of expensive equipment, by himself, seemed not only tedious, but overwhelmingly dull.

As John packed the van, stopping every so often to observe the pure stupidity of the equipment's names, Rose Lalonde planned out the night's expedition. Rose had insisted on doing this every time, "or else someone else'll mess it up." She stared at the board in front of her, absorbing the history of the place. She had found detailed notes on the sight's supposed "hauntings," and was comparing it to her (mostly) memorized copy of the Grimoire. She would often make theories like this on the expeditions. Her theories had an eighty percent accuracy rating. Try as she might, nothing matched. It might have seemed like an open and shut ghost case, but the Grimoire held no creature like this. Eventually, she decided to take a break and knit a little.

As Rose did her thing, Dave Strider sat around doing absolutely nothing. "It's ironic," as he explained to John when asked why _he_ couldn't do anything (maybe for instance, say, pack the van), "I do care about this job, so you'd expect that I'd put effort into it. For exactly that reason, I won't. See? Irony." Nobody else got it. The only thing they knew was that Dave idolized his bro, and his bro was a "master" of irony. Even though, as Rose had pointed out, this "irony" wasn't even technically ironic. Which was ironic.

Our last stop on this tour of teenaged tacticians leads us to a garden, where a young girl was sleeping. Jade Harley seemed to spend all her free time in said garden. It let her have time alone to think. The girl needed her space. But in the end, nobody bothered her for two reasons. One: She was a heavy sleeper, so even if they tried they couldn't wake her up. And two: it seemed to work. Her focus, which usually was a bit lacking, was incredible when in the field. She was, according to Rose, the most efficient member on the team. But that was only the case when she spent time earlier in the day in her garden.

The kids had been working here for about a year. They had their positions down. John and Jade, who were adoptive brother and sister, worked the field, recording any evidence and odd activities. Rose oversaw the team's progress and (more often than not) confirmed her theories. Dave was a bit of a wild card during the primary exploration, either helping Rose oversee or John and Jade collect data (depending on the size of the venue). After a Rose-led discussion about what they actually saw, Dave would lead them in getting rid of it (granted it had malicious intent). It was kind of like (and I'm quoting John directly here) _Ghost Hunters_ meets _Ghostbusters_.

Except it wasn't like that at all. Ghosts are harmless. It was poltergeists you really had to look out for. And demons can and will kill you. Nasty little fuckers. They even, on occasion, had to deal with humans: mostly necromancers, but occasionally a witch or warlock. Had they had to kill anybody? Yes, one time they were forced into it (though the fact that he was attempting to kill everyone in the city helped them get over it pretty fast). God, there are so many (granted fictional) TV shows that could have explained that better.

After an hour of trying to cram shit into a (relatively) small van, John returned to Rose. "So," he said, sliding next to her, "when are we gonna head out?"

She looked up from her knitting needles as if she hadn't noticed his rather boisterous approach. "Well hello to you too." They exchanged a shared eye roll and she looked to her phone. "It's only six o'clock. We usually wait for nightfall, which if my memory serves me right is in an hour and twenty minutes. Accounting for traffic, we should leave around seven."

"Well what do we do for an hour?"

"It's more like half an hour. We are gonna need a pretty long briefing tonight."

John tossed his head back in a groan. "God, that's gonna be worse than the wait. Can't we just go in there without a briefing?"

Rose's eyes squinted closed. "Don't you remember what happened the last time we tried a blind approach?" she asked, exasperated.

"Well yeah," he said, "but that was one of our first missions. We actually know what we're doing now."

"So you say." Her needles started going again. "But this time is going to be strange. I don't know what we are going against and would like the rest of the team's input." She paused. "I hope Jade will be awake by then. She has a good intuition."

"I know." John said. "Try living with her. I'll make sure at least her body is there."

"Well that's super helpful, John. An unconscious Jade is exactly what we'll need."

"Glad you feel that way, Rose." He said as he rose from the table. "Good luck with whatever that is."

"Good luck finding something to do." She responded, barely looking up from the rather complicated pattern.

Half an hour went by pretty fast. John and Jade (who woke up a few minutes after John and Rose's conversation) decided to shit around on the computer. Rose continued knitting. Dave continued doing absolutely nothing. When the half hour expired, Rose rounded them all up.

"Here's the deal" she said, "I have no idea what we are heading up against. There are reports of things moving by themselves, strange shadows, and loud noises coming from what seems to be nowhere."

"That just sounds like a ghost or poltergeist." Said Dave, "Nothing we haven't faced before."

"I was thinking that, but the shadows have horns." She explained. "The Grimoire clearly states that those two are apparitions in the shape of humans. No horns."

"Okay," John said, "so what exactly do we have to go on? The thing is relatively harmless, casts a shadow, and has horns. Is that it?"

"There might be more than one." Rose said. "The accounts aren't clear, or even consistent. But other than that, that's all."

"Why are we even investigating something like that?" Dave asked.

"Don't ask me. It was in the envelope when I got here." Rose said, throwing up her hands.

"Well even with that little information, it sounds like something we've never seen before," said John after a small pause. "Maybe we'll get to add something to the Grimoire."

"Maybe this isn't the time for jokes John," said Jade. "If we don't know what it is, we don't know how dangerous it could be."

"I think we can handle ourselves," said John, throwing his arm around Dave. "If things get too hot to handle, this guy will protect me, right?"

"Yeah," said Dave, throwing John's hand off of him. "Just don't get mushy with me."

"Alright guys," said Rose. "We're going to have to wrap this up. One thing before we head out, though." She turned to Jade. "Do you have any feelings about this?"

"Well, I know this isn't something that we've ever seen." Jade explained. "But maybe we won't need to worry. Maybe they'll be friendly."

"I can only hope so." Rose said, rising from her seat. "But let's get moving, guys. We don't want to miss sundown."

"Wait," Dave said. "I don't even know where we're going."

"It's just an old factory on the edge of town."

"Wait," John said, "not the place where we fought off the necromancer, right?"

"No, that was at the warehouse. This is the factory next door."

"Great," said Dave, "How much you guys want to bet that something's going to go horribly wrong?"

"I'll put ten dollars on nothing." John said.

"Be prepared to lose that bet." Dave replied.

"You are so on"

And with that, the group headed out, hoping that John was right.

To be continued…

So as I said in the first AN, this might be edited later. For anyone wondering, I am working on the next chapter for Broken. If you haven't seen any of my other stuff, and you like Percy Jackson, you can head on over to my profile. If you liked, disliked, or had any feeling about this one whatsoever, leave a review for me. Make good decisions. Peace!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone. So in between the first chapter and now, I was looking at some different webcomics, and I found something called Paranatural. It was really good, so I read it all in two days (I shouldn't brag about that, it's sad). As I was reading though, I realized that it was strikingly similar to the concept of this work. I mean, other than the fact that the author of Paranatural, Zach Morrison, is actually funny, it's almost the same concept. Especially with the aspects that I am still introducing. I'm going to keep on track with the story I had planned, but I felt it was an entertaining story (plus I didn't want someone to think that I ripped off the idea). Anyways, onto the chapter.

Graveyard Shift

Chapter Two: Into the Knight

"Is everyone ready?" asked Rose from the radio. She had taken about twenty minutes setting up home base in one of the old offices. It happened every time, but John and Jade were wondering if she was ever going to contact them.

"God, if we're gonna have codenames, we might as well use them," said John. "Over." He didn't even like the codenames. They were, in his words, "so stupid." They sounded like a twelve year old came up with them. But, the boss had insisted on using these specific ones. Apparently they were important.

"Was the 'over' really necessary?" Dave asked.

"Yeah it was," John replied. "Over."

"You're a dork." said Dave. "Over."

"Shut up," said Rose. "Are you guys ready or not?"

"Yeah," said John, "Witch and Heir are ready on the ground. Over."

"Seer and Knight are ready as well," said Rose. "Over."

"Alright," John said, "let's go. Moving to Sector One. Over."

Rose turned her chair away from the monitors and towards Dave, taking her earpiece off. John always forgot to turn his off, and she couldn't be distracted by his ramblings. "What's wrong with you today?"

His eyebrow emerged from the top of his obnoxiously large pair of sunglasses. Rose wasn't sure how he could see in the dark, but he never even bumped into anything. John couldn't do that in broad daylight. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Come on," she responded, "I've known you for your entire life, I think I can tell when something's bothering you."

His expression, not unexpectedly, didn't budge. "We don't even live in the same house, Rose. My mind is a total enigma. Hell, I'm probably fucking with you right now. You have no idea."

"You think way too highly of yourself." Rose said, shifting forward in her seat. "I don't care about custody laws, last names, or places of residence, you are my brother. I've witnessed your struggle to create this 'enigma,' and honestly, I can see right through it." Her fingers laced together in front of her black lips. "The more you try to push that you don't care, the more it's obvious that something has been bothering you. Egbert probably hasn't noticed, but I'm sure Jade has. My guess is that it's your 'brother.'"

"What have I told you about psychoanalyzing me? I told you, that shit doesn't work on me. If you knew me so well, you would know that absolutely nothing bothers me. It's my defining personality trait."

Rose shook her head. "That's your defining coping mechanism. Look, I know that what happened took its toll, and I know you don't like to talk about it. I just want you to know that whatever happens, I am there for you. So are those two idiots back there," she said, pointing to the screens behind her. "You just have to let us in."

"Rose, shut up." Behind his shades, his eyes widened.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. You can't keep-"

"No," He said, "we can talk about this later. Shut up and look at the screens."

She turned her chair with a huff. But then her eyes widened.

"Why are they all turned off?" he continued.

"I have no idea."

"Did you turn them on?"

She glared daggers into him. "Yes I turned them on."

"Well they aren't on now."

"Yes. We've established that. And I'm also not blind." Her voice started to shake. _Did_ she forget? But they were plugged in. And she distinctly remembered looking at a lit screen. Wait. Was something on the screen blinking?

"Is that a curser?" Dave asked.

Did some asshole hack her screen? She balled up her fist.

It didn't take a full minute for four words to appear on the screen. "GET THE FUCK OUT." The handle read _carcinoGeneticist_.

Rose looked up to Dave. "We don't have the equipment to deal with angry-" she paused. "We don't even know what we're going up against. We can't stay here. We'll come back. With an arsenal."

"Agreed. But John and Jade are still in there."

"Shit." She picked up the loose earpiece. "Hello. Do you hear me? We need you to get out of there." Silence. "John, Jade. Come in." Again, nothing. "Go get them." Rose said, turning back to the computer. "I'll talk to the troll." She began to type as _tentacleTherapist_. "We are willing to comply with your demands. However, two of our friends are somewhere within the caverns of the factory. Once they are extracted, we will on our way."

Dave tapped her on the shoulder. "Should I use the watch?"

"Why do you think I'm sending you? Remember that it only works for fifteen seconds."

"No shit."

"Get going." She looked back at the screen.

CG: YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES.

TT: We still have to find them. After all, you did cut off our communication with them. I hope that five minutes will suffice, but that might not be possible.

TT: We are only trying to cooperate.

CG: THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE YOUR FRIENDS ARE ALREADY DEAD. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT.

CG: IF YOU DON'T FIND THEM BY THE APOINTED TIME, FLIES WILL ALREADY BE COMING OUT OF THEIR EYEBALLS. DON'T TEST ME.

TT: You must understand that killing my friends will constitute as an act of aggression. If we don't find our friends, alive, we will come back.

TT: And we will not hesitate to exterminate you.

CG: YOUR THREATS DO NOT FRIGHTEN ME, HUMAN. AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES LEFT.

CG: GOOD LUCK.

* * *

Rose slammed her fist on the table. "Dave better hurry the hell up."

Walking across an old, unsecure, empty catwalk wasn't the easiest thing in the world, as John and Jade knew perfectly well. It was often a hassle exploring the most dangerous areas of a site first thing. John always wondered why Jade insisted on doing this every time, but she always said that it got the bad stuff out of the way. Not that John was complaining about that, but he would've just preferred not to do these sections. He liked to have at least a little control over where he was going, and the trembling catwalk gave him the exact opposite of that.

"John," Jade said from behind him, "I know you're afraid of heights, but if you don't move we'll both be stuck up here."

"I'm not afraid of heights," replied John. "I'm afraid of falling to my death."

"Yeah, from an elevated area, aka a fear of heights."

"If it didn't feel like I was going to get flung off every step that I take, I would be fine. This is just survival instinct."

"Well hurry up so we can get down from here." She tapped her foot impatiently.

Johns held on to the railing so tight, his knuckles were bight white. "I'm sorry I don't wanna die."

"You should've had me go up front." Jade said with a sigh. God, John could be such a scaredy-cat. But she loved her brother, even if they weren't related by blood. "Can I pass at the next crossing?"

"Go ahead, if you really want to." It only took a few seconds for them to get to a crossing and for her to pass him. Suddenly, there was a strange crackling noise in the earpieces. "What the hell?" His hand shot up to the earpiece. "Seer, do you copy?"

Silence.

"Seer, are you there?"

Again, silence.

"John?" Jade said with a yawn. "I'm not feeling too-" she trailed off as she slumped to the ground.

Unfortunately, the side guard was not enough to keep Jade on the platform. She started to slide off face first as the catwalk swayed. John leaped forward and grabbed at her leg with one arm, the other holding the other side of the catwalk. Jade hung limp from her leg as John struggled to hold her. The muscles in his arms burned. "Somebody better be on their way over here!" John yelled, hoping that somebody might hear him.

A few moments later, he felt a tug in the armpit area from above him. "Man," said Dave, "you have to help me here."

"I am trying."

"Try harder!"

"I'm going to try to pull Jade up there," he said as he released the other side of the walkway. With both arms, he pulled her up with all his strength. After a bit of struggle, and a nudge from Dave, she settled on the catwalk. John sighed in relief.

"Oh shit." Dave said as Jade started to slide off again.

"Let me go."

"What?"

"Just trust me. Get her out of here."

"Are you going to be ok?"

"I'll be fine." Said John. "At least I think I will."

"This better work." With that, John dropped into the abyss. As he dropped, time seemed to slow. He realized how lucky it was that Jade hadn't lost her glasses while hanging upside down. He reached for the neckless he was wearing. It wasn't really his style (which is why he wore it under his shirt) but in this moment he was glad he was wearing it. He grabbed it, envisioning the catwalk. His eyes closed as his body disintegrated. It was always weird turning into the wind. He felt free, but also like he was going to fall apart. He always wondered what would happen if he stopped envisioning his destination. He wasn't about to try, but it was still an interesting idea.

Soon, he was standing next to Dave on the catwalk. He had Jade in a fireman carry. A horned shadow darted across the wall on the other side. "What was that?"

"No time," Dave said. "We need to go right now."

"Fine, let's go."

The run back to the office wasn't nearly as horrifying as the first journey across the catwalk. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or maybe it was that he had already fallen off the platform today. Either way, they didn't slow down until they reached Rose. She didn't even have the opportunity to pack her things. They sprinted to the van.

"Next time we come here, we are just getting the equipment." John said. "Maybe we can try again in a week."

"Agreed." Said Rose as they drove away.

"Aw crap, we have school tomorrow." John said.

"Damnit, I have an essay due tomorrow." Said Rose.

"We are screwed."

* * *

The next day, twelve new kids stood at John's bus stop. _That's weird_ John thought, his mind still racing from the night before. _We never get new kids._

To be continued…

So I've had this done for a few days now. I'm not sure why I just had it laying around in my files. Sorry about that. Anyway, here it is. Leave a review telling me what you think. Follow and/or favorite if you want. All that jazz. Make good decisions. Peace!


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